OBEDIENCE ALWAYS BRINGS BLESSINGS
Luke 5:1-11
The Outcome of Obedience to God will always bring blessing!
The Lord’s simple requests often serve as stepping-stones to life’s most wonderful blessings.
-Simon Peter illustrates what can happen when we say yes to God.
The Lord wanted to use Peter’s boat as a floating platform from which to address the multitude, so He asked the future apostle to push the vessel out a little way from shore (v. 3)—
-not in itself a particularly remarkable request.
- But Peter’s compliance to His request paved the way for a life-changing blessing.
From his example, we also learn how essential it is to obey God in even the smallest matters.
The noisy crowd received the first blessing of Peter’s obedience; the people could now clearly hear Jesus’ words.
At the conclusion, the Lord said to Peter,
“Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch” (5:4)
—a second opportunity to say yes or no.
But this time, Peter may have felt tempted to decline.
After all, he was a seasoned fisherman. He had worked the entire night for a catch but had returned empty-handed.
Now this young teacher—a carpenter, by the way, not a fisherman—was asking him to go fishing again?
"MASTER, WE WORKED HARD ALL NIGHT AND CAUGHT NOTHING, BUT I WILL DO AS YOU SAY AND LET DOWN THE NETS" (LUKE 5:5).
Peter’s reply demonstrates the beginning of a lifetime of faith in God.
He said, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing, but I will do as You say and let down the nets” (5:5, emphasis added).
The soon-to-be disciple chose to obey the Lord and to leave the consequences of his decision to Him.
-But notice what happened as a result of Peter’s obedience—Jesus demonstrated His power and sovereignty.
-Peter and his partners may have started the day off thinking their efforts had yielded nothing. But they ended it in complete amazement because they pulled in not one but twooverflowing boatloads of fish (5:7).
Saying yes to the Lord’s request resulted in a miracle that transformed not only one fisherman’s life but the lives of the entire group.
Consider three reasons why obedience is critical to the successful Christian life:
1. Obeying God (in small matters) is an essential step in receiving God’s greatest blessings.
Suppose Peter had said, “Look, I’m busy cleaning my nets right now. I can’t help You because I’m going to fish again tonight.”
Or he could have said, “Why don’t You ask to use that other boat, over there?”
Or, “I’ve already been fishing today; it would be a waste of time to go again.”
If Peter had said anything other than YES, he would have missed the greatest fishing experience of his life.
-But because of Peter’s obedience, the Lord arranged a miracle that he would never forget.
Often, God’s greatest blessings come as a result of our WILLINGNESS to OBEY something DESPITE IT appears very INsignificant.
-So ask yourself, “Has God been challenging me to do something seemingly unimportant that I have not yet made an effort to accomplish?
- Is there anything I have rationalized by saying, ‘It’s too difficult,’ ‘I don’t want to,’ or ‘I have to pray about it first’”?
In Gen 22:15-18
15 The angel of the LORD called to Abraham from heaven a second time 16 and said, "I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, 17 I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, 18 and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
The Lord tells Abraham that He will surely bless him because of his obedience and faith.
-Because of his blessings will come.
-This indicates not just blessings, but abundant blessings will be showered on Abraham.
-The Lord is waiting to surely bless you as well.
He is waiting for your absolute surrender to Him, and your obedience to His Word, Way, and Will for your life.
There are many general commands that we need to do:
-Obedience in Finding mates
-Obedience in serving God “Seek ye first”
-Obedience in Finding his will”
2. Our obedience always benefits others.
Think of how many people were blessed by Peter’s obedience.
-Not only could the crowd see the Lord and hear His lesson, but Jesus Himself also benefited—preaching from the boat enabled him to sit down in comfort while He spoke (5:3).
-Then, of course, Peter’s friends had a very profitable day—they took in two vessels so full of fish that both began to sink.
-More importantly, they had the opportunity to witness the Lord’s supernatural provision.
GOD'S CALL TO OBEDIENCE ALWAYS DEMANDS OUR RESPONSE.
God often rewards us and people around us
—in particular, those closest to us—as a result of our obedience.
For example, when a father obeys the Lord, his entire family reaps the reward of God’s blessings.
Likewise, a child’s obedience will bless his or her parents.
When we live an obedient lives, those who know and love us will sense the peace and joy He has given us.
Instead of conflict, there will be contentment—and that is just one part of experiencing God’s goodness.
His call to obedience always demands our response.
LASTLY
3. When we obey God, we will never be disappointed.
Peter no doubt assumed that Jesus’ fishing instructions would amount to a waste of time.
But when he complied with the Lord’s simple request, Christ brought about a miracle that gripped the disciple with amazement.
- Jesus turned an empty boat into a full one.
We, like Peter, must recognize that obeying God is always the wisest course of action.
Perhaps you have hesitated to obey God because you fear the consequences of your decision.....
Moses hesitated to obey God for the fear that something wrong might happen to him. When God instructed him, Mosed answered and said...
What's in your Hand
Exodus 4:1-4 NASB
Then Moses answered and said, "What if they will not believe me, or listen to what I say? For they may say, 'The Lord has not appeared to you.' " [2] And the Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" And he said, "A staff." [3] Then He said, "Throw it on the ground." So he threw it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from it. [4] But the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand and grasp it by its tail"-- so he stretched out his hand and caught it, and it became a staff in his hand--
God often calls us to do something to see if we trust Him enough to obey Him, even when it doesn't make sense to us.
THE LESSON IS, God doesn't need our abilities, but He does demand our availability to OBEY?
He asked Moses a question I want to ask you today, "What is that in your hand?"
For Moses, it was his rod. God told him to throw it down and when Moses did, it turned into a snake.
God used Moses and that Rod to get the people out of Egypt BECAUSE OF HIS OBEDIENCE NOT HIS ABILITIES.
• With the Rod, Moses struck the Nile river and it turned to blood (7:17),
• brought a plague of frogs out of the waters (8:5),
• struck the dust and turned them into gnats (8:16),
stretched it toward heaven to bring down fire, thunder, and hail (9:23),
• brought a plague of locust (10:13),
• divided the Red Sea (14:16),
• struck a rock with it and got water (17:6)
• and when he held it high in the air, his warriors prevailed in battle (17:9).
And to think that Moses called it JUST "A STAFF!"
So, what do you have in your hand?
Remember young David when the people of GOD were being taunted by the Philistines.
-This young boy was just a lad, he was not a warrior, yet he answered the call. What’s that in your hand David?
-Well it’s just a sling and a few rocks, but in the name of the LORD that uncircumcised Philistine shall fall!!
What’s that in your hand Andrew? Well it’s just a few fish and some bread JESUS. Give it to me and I will feed Five Thousand People today!!!
When He tells you to do something and you know without a doubt it is His will, then you need to obey based solely on who is doing the commands....
When you choose to obey the Lord, He will bless you.
This is because obedience always leads to blessing.
I have always told people who say they do not understand why God is asking them to do a certain thing that if they will obey Him, He will reward them with a sense of peace and joy that compares to nothing this world has to offer.
Therefore, set a goal to obey the Lord and watch Him work in your life.
If you want God to bless your life, then you should be obedient to His Word for your life?
God wishes to grant everyone the desires of their hearts to bless them beyond imagination.
But, it all begins with obedience.
